A few questions have been raised about a slightly unusual incident that occurred last week in the Burnley v Crystal Palace game. The ball was running towards the touchline, half way inside the Palace half and was being pursued by…

One of the most unedifying sights in present day football is the grappling of opponents at corners or when free kicks are played into the penalty area. The PGMO which controls Premier League referees are issuing a statement and DVD…

Since Reading’s game against Norwich City, several fans have asked me if the referee made a mistake in allowing the Norwich goal to stand. It certainly upset the Reading players. It wasn’t the goal itself, but the circumstances leading up…

This month Reading RA is pleased to welcome Jim de Rennes as our guest speaker. An old friend of RRA, Jim has a knack of looking at things in a different light and has provided some enjoyable and thought provoking…

It is unlikely that anyone would suggest Sir Alex Ferguson was a friend to referees. His mind games before matches such as, ‘This game is going to need a firm referee’; meaning he expected the referee to be strict against…

One of two talking points raised in December came courtesy of Steve McMahon, who discussed when not to allow a free kick to be taken quickly. The situation arose after the goalkeeper rushed out of the area and fouled an…

As Referees we have all reported misconduct in one form or another. Of course, any two referees will have different levels of tolerance when it comes to dealing with and subsequently reporting misconduct. Thus the question was asked to the…